Veteran Washington Post sportswriter Tom Boswell has been elected to the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame. Boswell joins North Carolina sportscaster Woody Durham, Real Sports host and sports journalist Bryant Gumbel, and legendary basketball writer Dick Weiss in the 2018 class of the NSMA Hall of Fame.
Capitals play-by-play man Joe Beninati was also named DC Sportscaster of the Year by the NSMA. This is the second time he has won the award.
Boswell has worked as a columnist for the Washington Post for almost 50 years, taking the position in 1969. In his time in Washington, he has seen an MLB team leave and a new one replace them, four major sports championships, and the Capitals’ entire existence. In 1984, Boswell was named the NSMA National Sportswriter of the Year.
As a kid growing up in the DC area, my family got the Post every day. Tom Boswell’s columns largely influenced my passion for sports journalism, which I now study at William & Mary. Every morning, before I went to school, I would read the sports page, and Boswell’s storytelling always captivated me. It still does.
Boswell is cut from the classic 20th century sportswriter’s cloth. As such, he is strongest writing about baseball. But Boswell is still a great hockey writer.
Just last week, he wrote a splendid piece on the Caps that I think demonstrates how well he can weave a sports story. In a hockey media landscape sometimes overly reliant on traditional narratives, Boswell shows the sensitivity needed to stand out.
I’m glad he finally is getting this nod, because he deserves it.
Meanwhile, the irreplaceable and always impeccably dressed Joe Beninati won best DC Sportscaster for the second time in four years. He last won in 2015.
I'm extremely honored by this award and appreciate it very much! Many thanks go out to @NSMASportsMedia and all those who voted. Congratulations to all the state, national, and Hall of Fame selections!! https://t.co/JUWRXGE7sD
— Joe Beninati (@JoeBpXp) January 16, 2018
Other notable local journalists honored include Mark Viviano (MD Sportscaster of the Year), Jeff Zrebiec (MD Sportswriter of the Year), and Mark Zuckerman (DC Sportscaster of the Year).
